


Winter's End

by infinite_hyperion



Category: The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Alina still has her powers, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Nikolai still has his scars, Romance, Ruin and Rising Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-18
Updated: 2014-11-18
Packaged: 2018-02-26 05:09:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2639264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infinite_hyperion/pseuds/infinite_hyperion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They are both broken people, the Sun Summoner and the King of Scars. But to their mutual surprise, they find being broken does not mean the end of all good things, and perhaps their life is best lived together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Winter's End

**Author's Note:**

> Canon divergent from the end of Ruin and Rising, rated Mature because this chapter is basically fluffy Nikolina smut.

Nikolai visited Keramzin the third Christmas after Mal’s death, when he and Alina both were trying to put themselves back together. A small part of her felt guilty when she took his hand and led him to her bedroom, but a much larger part of her understood the darkness they struggled to contain.

The Saint and The King of Scars. Two broken people with the weight of their country on their shoulders.

_Like calls to like._

Alina removed Nikolai’s gloves. The scars had begun to fade, but they stood out against his pale skin. She kissed his palm and let his fingers gently cup her face.

“I want to see,” she told him. “Will you let me?”

“Of course,” he said without hesitation. She unbuttoned his shirt and he let it fall to the floor, next to his gloves. Gray streaked the skin of his torso, and the marks on his back remained as a reminder of the horrible darkness that had inhabited him. But saints, he was breathtaking. He didn’t have the body of a man who lazed about the palace all day. She planted a kiss between his shoulder blades and wrapped her arms around his waist.

“You are not a monster,” Alina said. He turned to face her and she pulled him down into a kiss. Nikolai pulled her close to him. He was warm and solid and real.

He’d been the only one of her lovers to make it out alive.

“Neither are you,” he replied. He set her on the bed and pushed her nightgown up to her hips.

“Are you sure you want this?” Nikolai asked, his eyes filled with need and desperation. She realized that look in his eyes was for her, and that she needed him too. They were the only ones who could understand the other’s pain, the other’s burdens.

_Like calls to like._

“Yes. Yes I do.” Alina slipped out of her nightgown and tossed it on the floor. “Take off the rest of your clothes.”

“My, aren’t we a bit eager tonight. If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather wait until I’ve made you a bit more…hmm, what is the word I’m looking for…”

“Hope you’re better at pleasuring a woman than you are at finding words,” Alina said. Nikolai loomed over her. Their eyes locked and for a few seconds, the crackling of the fire and their breathing was the only sound in the room.

“Is that a challenge?” Nikolai whispered in her ear.

“If it will make you stop dallying and get to the pleasuring, then yes it is.”

“Very well. I never could turn down a challenge.” He made his way down her body slowly, kissing her neck, her breasts, and her stomach. His fingertips brushed her sides and hooked into the sides of her underwear, pulling it down over her thighs.

He knelt in front of her as if in prayer and spread her legs, flashing her a grin. He pulled off her underwear, tossed it over his shoulder with a flick of his hand, and set himself to his task. Alina murmured encouragements, her face flushed. A moan escaped her lips. Alina grabbed a handful of Nikolai’s bright, golden locks, which he seemed to take as more encouragement.

_Saints,_ she thought. _The most powerful man in Ravka is on his knees with his mouth between my legs and I’m enjoying it._

He stood to his feet and she fell back on the bed.

“Now,” he said, undoing his belt. “I take off the rest of my clothes. Try not to be too dazzled.”

\---

When Alina woke the next morning, Nikolai was still asleep. Their clothes lay scattered on the floor and the fire needed stoking, so she grabbed his shirt. Not so much to cover herself up (no one would be coming into her room at this hour) but out of curiosity and the fact that Nikolai’s clothes always smelled amazing to her. Alina no longer needed the warmth since her power provided it for her, but Nikolai had rolled up in most of the blankets.

Alina threw another log on the fire and stirred the coals. She watched the flames leap and crackle around the wood until she heard the shuffle of quilts.

“That shirt looks familiar,” Nikolai said with a yawn. He stretched and ran a hand through his extremely mussed hair. “It’s a good color on you, though a bit too large.”

She looked down. The shirt was almost knee length on her, and she’d rolled up the sleeves to her elbows so she wouldn’t accidentally catch it on fire. It was a pale blue and immaculately tailored, made with high quality cotton fabric.

“I wanted to see what it felt like to wear a king’s clothes. I’m feeling more egotistical by the second.” She cleared her throat dramatically and stood up straight, tilting her head up as though she were addressing a crowd instead of a bleary eyed king with messy hair.

“People of Ravka,” she began, dropping her voice deeper in an attempt to imitate Nikolai. “I, your charming and roguishly handsome king, may my life and reign be long, have gathered you here today for an important announcement. I have decided that I have an insufficient amount of fancy titles after my name, so I have made some more up.”

Alina held her hand out and flicked her wrist to unfurl an invisible scroll. She paused to pick an imaginary piece of lint off of her sleeve, her tongue sticking out from the corner of her lips. Nikolai tried to stifle a laugh and failed.

“You will be required to use at least nine of my given titles after my name in any letter you write me, but I, being the benevolent ruler that I am, will allow you to choose whichever nine you like the best! Please do take notes, as one read through of this list takes three hours, and I would hate to waste more of your valuable time-” Alina grinned when she saw Nikolai doubled over, laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe.

“Please…I…I…” he managed to wheeze before he started laughing again.

“Do not worry, my loyal subjects, for I have arranged this list alphabetically for your con…con…convenience.”

Alina snorted and covered her face, unable to stop herself from laughing. Nikolai wiped tears from the corners of his eyes and managed to take a few deep breaths. Alina’s giggles were punctuated by the occasional snort, which only served to make her blush more.

“Saints Alina, I thought I was the funny one. It appears that I am for good reason! You almost killed me with that laughing fit.” He climbed out of the bed and began searching for his underwear, which had ended up on a bookshelf. Alina chewed the inside of her mouth and enjoyed the view.

“It’s all a part of my nefarious scheme,” she said as she unbuttoned the shirt. “To take your throne. All I need to do is make you laugh so hard you can’t breathe and become queen after your unfortunate yet enjoyable death.”

“That’s quite a good plan, though you could skip the whole killing me bit and just marry me to become Queen.”

She paused and looked down at the floor. He’d proposed before, of course, but this was the first time she felt like saying anything other than a firm no.

“Not yet.”

“Pardon?” Nikolai paused in the middle of pulling up his pants.

“I said…not yet. I still have a lot of things to take care of around here, but once I do…I’ll come to Os Alta. And I’ll let you propose to me.”

He froze and dropped his pants. “Are you sure? I mean, please don’t do this because we-”

“I’m not marrying you just because we had sex! What kind of blushing virginal girl do you think I am?” She walked over to him, white hair glowing in the firelight. His breath caught in his throat and he swallowed.

“Now,” she said, allowing the shirt to fall off of her. “I want you to take me to bed again, in celebration of the fact that you got me to successfully accept a proposal disguised as an offhand comment.”

“Of course,” Nikolai replied with a wicked grin.

\---

The other orphanage workers did the two a favor and pretended not to notice the looks Nikolai gave Alina, how close they sat to each other at the table, or the times Nikolai would lay his gloved hand over hers and she would let his hand remain there.

When it came time for Nikolai to return to Os Alta, Alina pulled him down for a kiss that lasted much too long to be considered proper.

\---


End file.
